Dear friends, Here is a quick update on the topic of moderation. Having spoken with our head of moderation cum webmaster we are thinking along the following lines: All in all, our moderation system works and it does not need radical changes. We will therefore make no major changes. We are probably going to ban anonymous comments. Those concerned about privacy can post under any assumed handle. We are thinking
by Quantum Bird* for the Saker Blog After addressing a number of challenging and current issues, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladmir Putin, in his extensive and detailed speech at the XVIII Valdai Discussion Club Meeting in Sochi, explained that: “I have already mentioned that, in shaping our approaches, we will be guided by a healthy conservatism. That was a few years ago, when passions on the international arena
By Amarynth for the Saker Blog Taiwan. In this article, Taiwan crossing the Red Line when the leader of the Taiwan region, Tsai Ing-wen, admitted to the presence of US military trainers on the island for the first time, was discussed. This was an open secret but the admission in public made it necessary for China to respond. Now it is clear what form the response is taking. At the
2021/11/08 03:30:01Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of the issues of the day. The ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’ will have two new open threads each week. The Saker stated moderation policy will apply eg ‘no caps’, no obscenity … etc to all post. The Cafe is now open for
By Thorsten J. Pattberg for the Saker Blog Part I. The Arrest. They detained me upon my arrival on a Tuesday morning, October 20th, at 6:15 A.M. at Schiphol International Airport in the Netherlands. I was fastlaned past immigration and escorted by security for questioning by two officers from Interpol and one agent from German Kriminalpolizei. They spoke in neuEnglish. I felt an apparent skin rash on my infraorbitals and intense stress that
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Rossiya 24, Moscow, November 1, 2021 Question: Not so long ago, you said that Russia would not use ideology-based rules in its international diplomatic practices. What examples can you give to explain this to a layman in matters of politics? Sergey Lavrov: It’s simple. Ideally, any society should obey generally accepted rules that have proved their efficacy and sensibility. Speaking about international life, the United Nations
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67066 November 4, 2021 Sevastopol Documents signed during the meeting included the Decree of the Supreme State Council of the Union State that sets forth the Guidelines for Implementing the Provisions of the Treaty Establishing the Union State in 2021–2023. Also, following the meeting, the sides signed resolutions of the Supreme State Council of the Union State On the Results of Russian-Belarusian Trade and Economic Cooperation Throughout 2020 and in January-June 2021, On the Union State’s Military Doctrine, On Awarding the 2021 Union State Prize in Science and Technology, as well as the Resolution of the Supreme State Council of the Union State On Implementing the Decisions of the Supreme State Council
http://middleeastobserver.net/why-is-lebanon-not-accepting-chinas-offers-to-develop-its-failing-infrastructure-tv-report/ Video link: https://twitter.com/MEO_Translation/status/1456536360878153728 (It’s a Twitter link, because YouTube censored this video under the pretext that it violated their “policy on violent and graphic content”!) Description: A recent news report asks why the Lebanese government is not accepting various Chinese offers to develop its debilitated infrastructure, this as the small Mediterranean country goes through an unprecedented economic and social crisis. Source: Al-Manar TV (Website) Date: November 3, 2021 (Please help MEO keep
2021/11/04 16:00:01 Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of the issues of the day. The ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’ will have two new open threads each week. The Saker stated moderation policy will apply eg ‘no caps’, no obscenity … etc to all post. The Cafe is now open
Let’s begin with a few headlines: Pentagon says world will have three ‘great powers’ – and US will be ‘challenged’ Biden ready to change US nuclear weapons policy – reports The US imposes sanctions on Nicaragua IRGC releases footage of blocking US oil seizure The first two seem to point to a US realization that war against China and Russia is unwinnable and that the USA simply does not have
by Ramin Mazaheri posted with permission and both parts cross-posted with PressTV As a numerical minority – of course Shia are the Muslim group most interested in Muslim unity: It means survival. It has meant this since the very death of Prophet Mohammad, and both “Muslim unity” and “the survival of Shi’ism” have been inseparable ever since. The logic of that concept – that “Muslim unity” is the best protector
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2021/11/03/669831/IRGC-Navy-thwarts-US-bid-in-Sea-of-Oman-to-steal-take-over-oil-tanker “The naval forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) have managed to thwart an attempt by the United States to take over a giant oil tanker in the strategic Sea of Oman and moved the vessel to Iranian territorial waters. The US military confiscated the Iranian tanker loaded with crude oil in the Sea of Oman, which connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, and intended to
Dear friends, I woke up this morning to see 107 comments!! So, first and foremost, THANK YOU ALL!! Second, I will have to sit down and read each comment carefully, making notes. But I want you to know that I did already read a lot of them and that this is already very helpful, at least for me. So, again, thank you! Third, and I should have mentioned that yesterday,
Dear friends, Yesterday I posted a subtitled video which I knew would be controversial, but I also considered that this was an important topic, so I went ahead with it. This resulted in a few average comments, and some very good ones. But then, today, I saw these two: The vilification of Peter the Great is a manifestation of (not so) subtle Russophobia, fear and ‘revolutionary’ hatred of Russia. The
By now, you must have heard it: Satellite images show new Russian military buildup near Ukraine, at least so says Politico. In reality, those images come from a location over 200km away from the Ukrainian border. Not only that, but Russia has no need for her 1st Guards Tank Army to deal with any Ukronazi threat – she has enough standoff weapons to defend the LDNR without crossing the border
Dear friends If you make a quick search for “Orthodox Church” or something similar, you will find hundred of thousands of website, article and books out there. This presents the reader with two problems: How to separate the fake (90%+) from the real thing (under 10%)? How to find the time and energy to plow through such a wealth of information? The bad new is this: original Christianity, which today
Reviewed by Francis Lee for the Saker Blog: Manias, Panics and Crashes: by Kindleberger and Aliber: Palgrave MacMillan – Basingstoke Hants, UK – first published in 1978 Capitalism without failure is like religion without sin – Charles P. Kindleberger This book was first published in 1978 and is now in its 6th edition. Given human nature and its corollary, economic collapse, there will doubtless be further editions. Mr Kindleberger himself
By Batko Milacic for the Saker Blog Amid numerous discussions about the future of Ukraine – a country that has been unable to form a single nation in 30 years of independence, and is torn apart by interethnic, linguistic and economic contradictions, Europe should ask itself just what Ukraine really means to it. And the answer will be the same – a buffer zone, because this clearly reflects Ukraine’s geopolitical
